Hey there. I'm working on the UPenn "five year" plan statement and I was wondering if anyone could lend insight as to how general/specific this should be. I have very general career goals. My ultimate goals involve work in the public sector in a high-level government position and perhaps eventually as a judge. I think I want to try working in the private sector hopefully for a "big law" firm for some years to get some experience, unless I am able to land a high-level judicial clerkship.

People often ask me what kind of law I want to practice but I'm pretty clueless in this area, aside from being interested in constitutional law/government administration. Do I have to be more specific than this in my essay? I also have an interview with Northwestern this Sunday and I'm afraid they're going to want more specifics that I just am not sure about yet.

sandwiches5000 wrote:People often ask me what kind of law I want to practice but I'm pretty clueless in this area, aside from being interested in constitutional law/government administration. Do I have to be more specific than this in my essay? I also have an interview with Northwestern this Sunday and I'm afraid they're going to want more specifics that I just am not sure about yet.

Thanks

It's perfectly normal to not know what kind of law you want to practice when you're an 0L, and, even if you do, that often changes during your years at school. Adcomms are more than aware of this and don't expect you to have that all figured out yet-- they just want to know that you have the maturity to succeed and genuine want to be there.

This is a question I have as well. I've always been under the impression that the strongest candidates - especially for the top schools interested in public interest law - know exactly which area of law they want to specialize in, and have a history of extracurricular activities pointing them in that direction (e.g., immigration law, disability rights). How can a candidate with no such background produce a law school application that's equally as compelling?

countercouper wrote: How can a candidate with no such background produce a law school application that's equally as compelling?

You can present yourself as an ideal candidate without necessarily having the background. It depends on hard data --your LSAT score and GPA-- but also on the compelling nature of other softs, like LsoR and an effective PS. You can also have great softs like interesting work/volunteering experience, that will make up for a "lack" of background.